Services for Children

In the past year we have published two landmark documents that detail how we propose to develop children’s services in Southwark over the next few years. The Young Southwark Strategy was published in September 2005 and the Children and Young People’s Plan on 1 April 2006.

Endorsed by all key statutory and voluntary organisations that make up the Young Southwark Partnership, their development laid the foundations for the launch of our Children’s Trust on 1 April 2006. For the first time it allowed us to bring all health, social care and education services for children, young people and their families under one umbrella, working with partners in other statutory agencies and across the community and voluntary sector.

Our vision in Southwark is for our children to grow up to achieve their potential as active, happy, young citizens free from poverty, neglect, crime, harm, abuse and distress. The Children’s Trust will help achieve this by bringing services together to address our top five local priorities – to improve literacy and numeracy, reduce rates of teenage pregnancy, reduce incidence of crime against children and young people, provide programmes for children and young people to do and reduce rates of childhood obesity.

Outcomes 
Our partnership working has brought improvements for local children and young people’s health, safety and well being

• smoking has decreased during pregnancy (through 2005/06 from 7.5 per cent to 6.7%)
• breastfeeding initiation increased (through 2005/06 from 85.3% to 86.8%)
• children’s dental health is improving: there was a 5% decrease in average number of children with decayed, missing or filled teeth
• children killed or seriously injured in 2005 fell to 7, down from 15 in 2004 and 34 on average for 1994-98
• a graduated range of support, from early intervention to targeted specialist responses, is helping to avoid children having to be looked after.  Numbers are 3 per cent down this year
• the teenage conception rate has dropped from 88 per 1,000 females aged 15-17 in 2003 to 85.2 in 2004; this equates to a drop of 14 (4%), from 356 to 342 in total numbers of conceptions. The quarter 2 figures for 2005 show a rolling quarterly rate of 79.0 which equates to a 9.4% reduction on the 1998 baseline 87.2
• 70.4% of care leavers in 2005/06 were in employment, education or training, compared to 46.6% in 2004/05
• the MMR uptake for 2 years has increased to 65%, from 56% in 2004/05
• 100 per cent of children looked after are offered a comprehensive health assessment, with a take-up rate of 75%
• we maintained the top Commission for Social Care Inspection performance band for the second year running.

Actions
We are bringing services together to support children and families, and respond to what they are telling us. Service improvements where health and social care is a major component include:

• new children’s centres, such as the newly built 1st Place Children and Parent’s Centre in Burgess Park and the Grove Children and Family Centre at Grove Nursery School.  Twelve centres will be in place by the end of 2006, bringing together childcare, health and other support for children under five.  The full network will be completed by 2008, so that all under-fives and their families will be able to access the same level of support wherever they live in Southwark
• local midwifery and health visiting services have been refocused to provide continuity of car. They are also targeting specific vulnerable groups such as the homeless and refugees
• a wide range of positive parenting groups are available in various settings across the borough: Bengali and Muslim Women’s Groups reached over 500 clients in 2005/06; a Childminding Group where women are able to access childminder training is opening up new employment opportunities
• 828 clients visited Southwark’s four Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) funded breastfeeding cafes, and 1,088 clients are expected during 2006/7/.  These community-based cafes provide a supportive environment to develop social networks and receive health advice
• increasing the number of Southwark schools having attained Healthy School Status to 34%, with 78% of schools currently involved in the process.   The Healthy Food in Schools project is working with Southwark schools to improve all aspects of nutrition. Baseline data on the extent of child obesity in Southwark is being obtained by measuring the heights and weights of a sample of children in Year 0 and Year 6 in local schools
• the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy has been reviewed to give greater focus to preventative action. We have mapped activity to identify ‘hot spots’ of teenage conceptions in the borough down to individual housing estates
• specialist substance misuse workers are now located within the Family Resource, Children Looked After and Youth Offending teams
• £400,000 annual investment in Care Link – this provides dedicated mental health support for children looked after and their carers, while co-location with the Fostering and Adoption service ensures easy access and prevents placement breakdown
• the ‘Team Around the Child’ (TAC) model has been developed for children with disabilities and complex needs. This places the needs of the child at the heart of all planning and is now the core of our approach. It is in the early stages of implementation with 24 children and young people and their families giving consent to take part.  A multi-agency panel considers complex cases where a number of agencies are involved. Initial feedback has been positive and a full evaluation is planned for Sept 06
• the new Southwark Child Development Centre, currently under construction in Camberwell and due to open in Autumn 2007, will provide a single point of contact and coordinated provision for children and families requiring specialist provision in a family friendly building
• a Parents’ and Carers’ Council, supported by a development officer (jointly funded by health, education and social care), has been created to ensure that parents and carers of children with disabilities are fully recognised, represented, and appropriately supported. The council will ensure a diverse forum membership with parents and carers from all backgrounds and sectors of the community
• the NHS Expert Patient Programme has been extended to include children, through funds secured by the PCT.  This supports self-management amongst young people with long-term conditions and their parents and carers, feedback is extremely positive, and parents feel empowered and more confident in dealing with the impact of a disability or complex need.

One key initiative and benefit that flows from this joint way of working is:

Breastfeeding Cafe: Supporting mums across Southwark
The Breastfeeding Cafe Project, offers mums a clean, safe and comfortable environment where they can feed their babies and get support from health visitors, midwives and mothers. Often it is the case that many mums feel uncomfortable about breastfeeding their babies in public, and that breastfeeding is made more difficult by the inadequate facilities provided in public places. 

Southwark Health and Social Care has been doing its bit to support women who are breastfeeding. There are four sessions a week around Southwark and we have seen that women who get support while they are breastfeeding are more likely to continue to feed their babies. 

The project has really helped the women who have visited it. But there is a need for more places to be breastfeeding friendly. Breastfeeding is natural and best for both mother and child and we would encourage all cafes, restaurants, and public venues in Southwark to support mothers wishing to feed their babies.

For more information about the Breastfeeding Cafe, contact:
Clarissa Georgestone, Breastfeeding Cafe Project Coordinator, 020 7138 7815 www.southwarkpct.nhs.uk/breastfeedingcafe